Siege of Prague (1086)

The Siege of Prague occurred in 1086 when the Holy Roman Empire besieged the rebel settlement of Prague on the order of the Council of Nobles. The German general Maximillian Mandorf was killed in the assault, although Jan I of Bohemia was killed in battle as well and Prague fell to the HRE.

Background
The Holy Roman Empire, the refuge of Roman wisdom, went through a decline since the 900s. Otto I of Germany lost most of Germany but he reunited the country in 955 by defeating the outsider Magyars, the German ranks closing ranks behind him. However, by 1080, the Bohemians, German Rebels, and Florentines had parted ways with the Empire. The king, Henry IV of Germany, succeeded in capturing Hamburg and Florence from the rebels, and the empire was on the trail to recovery.

However, Jan I of Bohemia refused bribes and continued to defy Imperial overlordship over the Kingdom of Bohemia. The Germans sent Maximillian Mandorf and an army of Imperial troops to capture the city of Prague from the rebels of the city, and they had ballistae, so they assaulted the city immediately.

Siege
The winter siege of Prague was lit up by flaming ballista bolts that tore the gates of the city down. The Germans then charged into the city, with Mandorf and his bodyguards the first to enter the walls. The fighting was vicious, and the Slav Levies surprisingly held their own. Faced by spearmen from the front and crossbowmen from the rear, Mandorf was slain, but Jan was also cut down. Eventually the Bohemians headed to the central plaza and fought to the death.

With Bohemia in their hands, the Holy Roman Empire exacted justice. Nearly 19,000 Bohemians were put to death as revenge for killing Mandorf and rebelling. Bohemia was once again made into an Imperial province.